I've always liked to mess around in the garden. For the past few years, my knee was so painful that gardening ceased to be fun. Walking on uneven ground caused shooting pain, forget trying to shovel or kneel. Fortunately, I have friends who were willing to come to help me keep the yard looking pretty, but it was sad that I couldn't easily participate.
A few weeks ago I had four yards of mulch delivered and dumped in the side yard. My gardening friend has not been able to get here and that mountain of mulch has been vexing me. Last weekend I grabbed a shovel and tried spreading mulch in the garden right next to the mulch pile. My new knee didn't hurt a bit, and the job was soon done. I felt so happy and satisfied. That feeling stayed with me all week and today I decided to tackle a larger project, mulching in the big circular garden in the front yard.
I filled the big wheelbarrow with shovel after shovel of fragrant mulch. It made for a heavy load, and I had to push it up and down to get where I wanted it. It took 5 trips of the stuff to fill the big bed and one more to do a couple of smaller beds in the same area. I raked it all smooth and stood back to admire my work.
To my great joy, I still had energy. I weeded a small garden and pruned a shrub, then hauled more mulch and covered up that tiny space.
And then... I wasn't done yet. There was a messy garden that needed pruning, weeding, and cutting. I got to it, hauling a full barrow of tired plants off, then loading up two more barrows of mulch. Chris got home right about then and helped me push and dump the last two loads. By the time I finished raking, I also felt... done.
But I also felt incredibly happy that I had been able to do a bunch of gardening. I shoveled and pushed and dumped and raked and weeded and pruned, and it was terrific. There is more to be done, but today seemed like a turning point. There will be future gardening and similar delights to come. My new knee has healed, and I feel... good.
No comments:
Post a Comment